High performance care
As electrification continues to gather momentum in the local market, brands like Porsche have followed suit.
They were the first to offer fully electrified luxury vehicles in the market with the Porsche Taycan. The Porsche Macan followed suit, and the upcoming Cayenne electric will soon land on Philippine soil. Then there are plug-in hybrid models like Porsche’s Cayenne and Panamera.
While the brand may be popular for building record-breaking and championship-winning sports cars such as the seminal 911, it is these four-door models that account for over half of the brand’s total sales output. They are of course designed, engineered and tested to the very same high-level of quality and ability. High-performance is in Porsche’s DNA.
But a high-performance vehicle requires high-performance care. Care made in a facility that is solely dedicated to all-things electric.
Welcome to the Porsche Philippines High-Voltage Center. This is the country’s first and only fully dedicated service center for fully electric vehicles, following international standards for safety, security and of course, repair and replacement of electric vehicle powertrains.
The High-Voltage Center was mandated by Porsche AG as the brand pursues electrification globally. Even if their core market still prefers traditional combustion engines, electrification is inevitable, albeit at a slower pace, in-line with Porsche’s intelligent performance ethos.
The High-Voltage Center carries out diagnostic work, repairs and even replacement of complete battery assemblies. It also provides a venue for hands-on training with real-time online support from counterparts abroad as they work on electric vehicles.
Porsche Philippines invested millions in special tools, equipment, battery dolleys and diagnostic software to fully service electric vehicles. They also invested in state-of-the-art personal safety equipment to keep Porsche Mechatronics safe while working on electric powertrains.
A typical Porsche Taycan battery module as an example has 12 individual pouch cells, and 28 to 32 battery modules (depending on variant) to make one complete battery assembly. Depending on the issue, Porsche Philippines can replace each of the 28 to 32 modules, or the entire assembly including the sealed hard case.
Battery related components are then collected, stored in a fully isolated location and then shipped to Porsche Philippine’s battery recycling partner in Singapore. They are shipped in a special temperature controlled and hermetically sealed container.
New replacement batteries are flown in from abroad, typically taking three to four weeks to arrive after ordering. Once here, it takes about a week to install the new battery assembly, calibrate the software and systems plus perform all tests to make sure the Taycan is back to 100 percent.
Currently, the facility is modest in size, with a work station to service the battery assembly, computers to connect to Germany or Singapore plus large screens to monitor the battery and to communicate with support teams abroad if needed. The other side contains two repair bays to work on one car while the other berths the dolley to carry the battery assembly as it is removed or when it is being installed. As demand grows, Porsche will expand and improve this facility since there is ample space to grow.
This facility goes to show that Porsche Philippines is world class, equipped with the latest equipment and certified Porsche Mechatronics to service the latest Porsche electric vehicles, an investment not only on tools and equipment, but the people who make it all work.
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